Shannon Dueck

Southern Manitoba is drenched after 24 hours of rain. 

According to Environment Canada, the rain and thunderstorms are supposed to let up this morning, before the sky clears. 

Manitoba Agriculture is reporting the following totals since the rain started (as of Tuesday at 11 a.m.):

It has been a stormy day for a large part of southcentral and southeastern Manitoba, complete with heavy rain, hail, strong winds and even a tornado warning.

According to Environment Canada, a fairly moisture-laden air mass is moving into southern Manitoba from the United States. This has resulted in thunderstorm activity throughout the day. 

It is not even fall, yet The Old Farmer's Almanac is providing a sneak peek at what we can expect for winter here in southern Manitoba.

Associate Editor Tim Goodwin says they are forecasting a colder than normal winter, with plenty of snow. And, he says the snow showers will start early.

"Beginning of November, you could be starting to see snow showers," he says. "And it's going to start to get cool."

A new edition of The Old Farmer's Almanac is now available. Those who read it will learn that the winter in southern Manitoba will be nothing like last winter.

A spokesperson for Southern Health-Sante Sud says hospitals in the region continue to handle a lot of cases that do not need to be seen at an emergency room (ER).

Dr. Aly Dhala is Chief Medical Officer. He says it has been a fairly busy summer at their emergency rooms, particularly at the regional centres. He notes the uptick in volume is related to closures and service disruptions at some smaller sites. As a result, patients then tend to go to the larger regional centres that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A spokesperson for Southern Health-Sante Sud says hospitals in the region continue to handle a lot of cases that do not need to be seen at an emergency room (ER).

Dr. Aly Dhala is Chief Medical Officer. He says it has been a fairly busy summer at their emergency rooms, particularly at the regional centres like Boundary Trails Health Centre. He notes the uptick in volume is related to closures and service disruptions at some smaller sites. As a result, patients then tend to go to the larger regional centres that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

With harvest underway in southern Manitoba, motorists are being reminded to watch out for farm equipment driving down roadways.

Morag Marjerison is Farm Safety Consultant with Keystone Agricultural Producers. Marjerison says awareness is key, noting that safety on the roads is the responsibility of all motorists. 

"Exercising patience and tolerance with each other are incredibly important," she says. "And I know that's easily said and not as easily done."

Manitoba is banning the use of cellphones by students in the classroom, beginning next month. 

Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Nello Altomare says this is being done to minimize distractions in schools. 

A press release issued by our provincial government says that to ensure consistency across the province, schools and school divisions will implement updated policies. However, the ban includes the following:

Manitoba's Progressive Conservatives are calling on the government to implement a province-wide approach to cellphone bans in classrooms.

In recent months, some School Divisions have put policies in place. However, MLA Kelvin Goertzen says rather than a hodge-podge effort, where some divisions have policies and others do not, Manitoba needs a consistent position. 

"It has to be I think province-wide," says Goertzen. "Because it's a good policy and you don't want to have sort of disorganized policies across the province when you recognize that this is good for students."

Skywatchers are in for a treat this weekend. The annual Perseid meteor shower is happening as we speak, with its peak happening early Monday morning. 

Scott Young is Planetarium Astronomer at Manitoba Museum. He explains that what appear to be shooting stars in the night sky are actually tiny pieces of dust. Young says these ancient particles, which are about the size of a grain of sand, are crashing into the earth at high speed and then burning up because of friction with our atmosphere. 

Public health officials say the risk for human exposure to West Nile Virus is high right now in the Southern Health-Sante Sud region. 

As a result, two ministerial orders have recently been issued, under the Environment Act, to fog for mosquitoes in the Winkler and Altona areas.

Public health officials say wet conditions early in the season and recent hotter, drier weather have created ideal conditions for Culex Tarsalis mosquitoes, which are the ones capable of carrying West Nile Virus.